Wow!!! What a mystery! For early teens it is hard core!! I couldn't figure it out until the end. Lovely book! Im so getting it for my niece's 13th Birthday!!!

I was actually pleasantly surprised that the author kept the book strictly to that age-- tight friendships, enormous curiosity, boy crashes, peer pressure from school, relationship with parents.. And so on. Coleen and Robin did incredible job with this book. I cant wait to read the adult version.

In many ways this book has reflected on my theories of life. It is true that when one of your superior's is getting unreasonably mad at you that means there is a much bigger issue looming over.

Poor children -- to have your own mother try and kill you. It is just wrong. Im glad they were blessed with a great step-mom who more then made up for the actual mother.

Overall this book is great fast read. I wouldn't exclude it only as teens material. The twists of mystery are adult quality! I totally recommend this to all ages. Even parents if teens - you should know they can read you better then you realize and even though they seem ignorant or preoccupied they are paying attention to all your moods and actions. Enjoy!!

Disclaimer: I got a free copy of this book from Tommy Nelson Publishing through NetGalley.com in exchange for my honest opinion.

Rock Harbor Search and Rescue by Colleen Coble is an installment of the new series. Emily's stepmom is a search and rescue team member along with her dog, Charlie. Emily has been going along with them for a while now and is excited to think that her dad has agreed to help her purchase her own puppy to train. Emily makes jewelry and is planning a big sale at the next craft sale in town soon. She needs $150 for her share and she hopes that she will have it ready by next month when her puppy will be ready. She hoped it until she was accused of stealing the $1000 necklace of the person selling in the booth next to hers. Her family and friends except her best friend Olivia all act like they believe she is lying when she says that she did not do it.

I liked this book and would recommend it for reading for any student with the ability to read it. It is a good mystery probably of interest to those of middle school age. There is an appropriate love interest among the 14-16 age group of the primary characters in the story. There is discussion of the difficulties of working through parent's divorce for the children in the family as well as the difficulties of physical abuse from a parent and how that affects the children.

Review: While this particular book was based on characters from the Rock Harbor series for adults, I did not have any trouble following the characters in Ms. Coble's "Search & Rescue." This was an enjoyable book to read for the targeted to the 8-11 age group, I believe primarily more girls than guys would like this book, simply because the main characters are girls working to solve the mystery of stolen jewelry.

I enjoyed this book and will probably read other books written by Colleen Coble, but there are a couple of things that keep me from giving this book a 5-star review, based on the targeted age reading group.

First, Emily struggles with her fears of local stories of the Windigo monster. This is a frequent fear throughout the book, and though Emily realizes that there is no such thing and that her faith in Christ should be stronger knowing that Christ is with her always, she struggles with the Windigo legends. This particular facet of the book may be disturbing to young readers who may have night-time fears.

Second, Emily, who is only 13 years old, is a little boy crazy and has two major "crushes" during the story and even finding herself alone on several occasions with one of the "crushes." Yet, the author never gives any type of spiritual direction for Emily's character to "wait on God to send the right young man." My particular viewpoint of this aspect of Emily's character may seem old-fashion, I believe it is critical, in this day & age, that we take every opportunity to instill the attitude of waiting on God when dealing with boy/girl crushes. I could even go as far as to say that the author is encouraging young people to seek out a relationship because the biblical side was neglected in the story resolution..

A strong point of the book_Emily wants a rescue puppy of her own and her parents are willing to help her out with this goal; but she has to work and spend some of her own money on the puppy. I hate to sound old fashion again, but so many kids today are just handed whatever they want. They don't understand the value or life lesson in working for what you want.

All this being said, I did like this book and would have no reservations about reading other books written by Colleen Coble. I enjoyed the mystery side and the detective work of the Emily and her sidekick Olivia. (rev. P.Howard)

DISCLOSURE: A complimentary copy of Rock Harbor Search and Rescue was provided by BookSneeze on behalf of Thomas Nelson Publishers and the author, Colleen Coble for the purpose of our review. Opinions expressed are solely those of the reviewer.

Rock Harbor Search and Rescue Dogs provide the setting for this fun, exciting story. When the main character, Emily is accused of theft, she turns into Nancy Drew. The target 8-11 year old crowd will enjoy Emily's believable investigation. Unlike Nancy Drew, Emily's efforts are not always successful. Readers will empathize with Emily's feelings when her family does not jump to her defense. There are multiple story lines in the book making it guaranteed to keep the story moving, and hold the interest of young readers. While the book definitely has a Christian theme, it does not portray Christians as perfect people with perfect lives. This is an excellent choice for readers who are looking for a clean mystery with enough twists and turns to keep you guessing until the end.